Atheneum Bookswas a New York Citypublishing houseestablished in 1959 byAlfred A. Knopf, Jr.,Simon Michael Bessie andHiram Haydn.Simon & Schusterhas owned Atheneum properties since it acquired Macmillan in 1994, and it created Atheneum Books for Young Readers as animprintforchildren's booksin the 2000s.
 | |
| Parent company | Simon & Schuster |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Alfred A. Knopf, Jr.,Simon Michael Bessie andHiram Haydn |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Publication types | Books |
| Fiction genres | Children's literature |
| Imprints | Caitlyn Dlouhy Books |
| Owner(s) | Kohlberg Kravis Roberts |
| Official website | simonandschusterpublishing |
History
editAlfred A. Knopf, Jr.left his family publishing houseAlfred A. Knopfand created Atheneum Books in 1959 with Simon Michael Bessie (Harpers) and Hiram Haydn (Random House).[1][a] It became the publisher ofPulitzer PrizewinnersEdward Albee,Charles Johnson,James Merrill,Nikki Giovanni,Mona Van DuynandTheodore H. White.It also publishedErnest Gaines' first bookCatherine Carmier(1964). Knopf recruited editorJean E. Karlto establish a Children's Book Department in 1961.[2][3]Atheneum acquired the reprint house Russell & Russell in 1965.[4]
Atheneum merged withCharles Scribner's Sonsto become The Scribner Book Company in 1978. The acquisition included Rawson Associates. Scribner was acquired byMacmillanin 1984. Macmillan was purchased by Simon & Schuster in 1994.[5]After the merger, the Atheneum adult list was merged into Scribner and the Scribner children's line was merged into Atheneum.[6][7]
In the 2000s, the Simon & Schuster imprint Atheneum Books for Young Readers published the popularMay Birdfantasy series for young adults, inaugurated byMay Bird and the Ever After(2005), and the Olivia series of picture books featuringOlivia the pig(from 2000).The Higher Power of Luckywon the 2007Newbery Medal.In a 2007 online poll, theNational Education AssociationlistedBunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mysteryas one of its Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children.[8]
Publications
editNotes
edit- ^For a detailed description of how Atheneum Publishers came into existence, see Hiram Haydn's memoir:Words & Faces: An Intimate Chronicle of Book and Magazine Publishing(Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974), pp. 105–40.
References
edit- ^
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher(February 16, 2009)."Alfred A. Knopf Jr., Influential Publisher, Dies at 90".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-04-18.Retrieved2009-02-22.
Alfred A. Knopf Jr., who left the noted publishing house run by his parents to become one of the founders of Atheneum Publishers in 1959, died on Saturday. He was 90, the last of the surviving founders, and lived in New York City.
- ^ Jalowitz, Alan (Summer 2006)."Karl, Jean (Edna)"Archived2012-05-07 at theWayback Machine.Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Penn State University. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ Palmquist, Vicki (July 29 [no year])."Birthday Bios: Jean E. Karl"Archived2012-05-15 at theWayback Machine.Children's literature network. (c) 2002–2008. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^Publishers Weekly,Volume 201, 1972.
- ^"Description [Scribner history]".Simon & Schuster. 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-30.Retrieved2009-02-22.
In 1978 Scribner acquired Atheneum, publishers of Edward Albee, Charles Johnson, and Theodore H. White. The Atheneum acquisition also brought with it the Rawson Associates imprint. And in 1984, the Scribner Book Companies, which by then included a great children's division and a distinguished reference division, merged with Macmillan.
- ^Lyall, Sarah (1994-01-24)."THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Paramount Publishing to Cut Jobs and Books".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-12-23.
- ^Dunleavey, M. P. (1994-06-13)."Anatomy of a merger".Publishers Weekly.Retrieved2019-12-23.
- ^National Education Association(2007)."Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^"The Princess Mouse".kirkusreviews.Kirkus Media LLC. 15 December 2002.Retrieved27 December2015.
External links
edit- Atheneum Books for Young Readersimprint at publisher Simon & Schuster